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Course Delivery

Assessment

A 3000 word portfolio
A portfolio containing one or two science fiction shrot stories to a total length of 2000 words, together with a critical commentary of 1000 words.

100%

Semester Assessment

A 3000 word portfolio
A portfolio containing one or two fantasy short storeis to a total length of 2000 words, together with a critical commentary of 1000 words.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate, in both creative and evaluative writing, an increased awareness of the thematic and structural possibilities of science fiction and fantasy.

2. Demonstrate, in both creative and evaluative writing, an increased command of a variety of techiques of science fiction and fantasy writing.

3. Demonstrate, in critical prose, an awareness of their own writing processes.

4. Demonstrate, by the revision of work previously discussed in workshops, an ability to improve their writing in response to criticism

Aims

The module will enhance the coverage of fiction-writing by offering an introduction to two closely related modes that are critically and commercially important.

Brief description

This module falls into two halves with five weeks being devoted to science fiction and five to fantasy. Each workshop will deal with a key theme. Students will be given a brief introduction to each theme and asked to produce a piece of writing, typically a short story, based on it. These stories will then be discussed in the workshops.

Module Skills

Interaction in group discussion will be essential to the seminars, which will take the form of workshops.

Improving own Learning and Performance

Students will be expected to improve their work in response to criticism from the tutor and other students.

Information Technology

Students will draw on resources located on Blackboard and the Internet.

Personal Development and Career planning

Developed through self-reflection on one¿s own creative practice and through transferrable communication and research skills.

Problem solving

Students will, with the help of the tutor, learn to overcome such problems of writing technique (inaccurate language, faulty structure, uninvolving writing etc) as become apparent in the seminars and assessments.

Research skills

Developed through the encounter with issues of genre and language that underpins the creative work, and through the synthesizing of information in the reflective critical commentary.